5 Foods to Ease Your Anxiety

Archives for June 2017

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We’ve all heard the phrase “you are what you eat.”

But did you know that what you eat can have a direct impact on how you feel?

I'm not just talking about eating too much and feeling bloated. I'm talking about the fuel you provide for your body.

It can affect your level of calm and your sense of wellbeing.

woman meditating in nature

Studies have shown that there are some foods that can help us deal with stress. There are also foods that cause us stress.

Most importantly, there are some things that we can add to our diet to help us deal with the things that make us upset.

By making sure that you’re getting the right levels of these important nutrients, you can help improve your ability to deal with the things you can’t control in your life.

You can also lift your mood.

Top 5 Foods to Ease Anxiety

1. Tryptophan

carving a turkey tryptophan calming

This important amino acid is found in turkey, bananas, oatmeal, and cheese. You may know tryptophan from all the stories that circulate at Thanksgiving about it making us sleepy after the holiday meal, but it does a lot more than that.

Tryptophan ties directly to the production of serotonin, a brain chemical that makes us feel calm.

2. Vitamin B

Studies have shown that when your levels of B vitamins are low, it can directly affect your mood. When you don’t have enough folic acid or B-12 you are more prone to having depression.

The best way to boost your levels of B vitamins is by eating beef, chicken, leafy greens and citrus fruits.

3. Carbohydrates

Healthy carbs can boost your mood because they increase the body’s production of serotonin. Just watch the type of carbs you eat.

Stick to whole grains like brown rice and stay away from processed foods.

4. Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Wild-caught salmon and other foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids are truly some of the healthiest foods you can eat. salmon capers lemon omega 3 lowers anxiety

People on antidepressants who eat foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to improve more than those who only take the medicine alone.

5. Protein

High protein foods like Greek yogurt or lentils help our brains make Norepinephrine and Dopamine. Both of these help to make us feel more alert. They also help our reaction time and make us feel more energized.

The best way to get a boost from protein is to eat it with complex carbohydrates.

Just as there are foods that help boost our moods, there are others that we should stay away from, because they can lead to greater anxiety and depression.

Foods to beware of include:

  • Processed foods and high-fat foods have both been linked to higher risks of depression
  • Alcohol may make you feel good for a moment, but overall it acts as a depressant.
  • Though you may think that sweets make you feel better, the boost does not last long. Once it is absorbed, you run the risk of feeling tired and sad.
  • Coffee and caffeine may give you a lift in energy, but they lower serotonin levels. This leaves you feeling depressed and cranky.

And don't overlook the value of moving your body to help relieve stress and ease anxiety. Seriously, even this quick 60 Second Body Blast can do wonders, try it and see for yourself.

Exercise is the number one thing you can do to boost your mood, especially when it's the last thing you feel like doing!

Yours in health and happiness,

Danette

P.S. Please share this with your loved ones and I love hearing from you in the comments below!

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As much as we may love shopping for shoes, we as women, tend to dislike our feet.

We spend a lot on foot creams and pedicures and complain that our feet are too big, or too wide, or that our toes are too long.

The shape or look of our foot may be something that we can’t change, but our foot health is.

woman putting lotion on her feet

There are a lot of foot problems that are a direct result of having to support too much weight.  It’s easy to take it for granted that our feet will support and transport us, but we need to know that if we ask them to do too much, trouble can follow.

We push our feet by squeezing them into shoes that are too tight or too small, so we get blisters.

We walk barefoot on hot sand or rough pavement and if we haven’t built up callouses our skin will burn or tear.

When we weigh too much, we put a lot of stress on our feet.

Just 10 pounds of extra weight increases the force on our feet by 30 to 60 pounds.

6 Ways Your Feet are Asking You to Lose Weight?

1. Achilles Tendonitis – This comes from stress being placed on the site where the Achilles tendon meets the bone. It’s a painful condition caused by overuse. Sometimes the tendon tears. achilles tendonitis getting treated in therapy

Extra weight tends to break down the collagen that lets the tendon heal. Fat distribution is also a risk factor.

The thicker the Achilles tendon is due to fat, the more likely it is to get inflamed and painful.

2. Plantar fasciitis – The more weight you carry, the more your gait changes. Your steps are shorter and slower. There is an increase in step width and greater turning of the feet in a way that can increase the chance of injury.

Studies have shown 1.4 times greater chance of plantar fasciitis in obese patients.

3. Osteoarthritis – This is joint pain caused by the faster breakdown of cartilage that increased force causes.  Too much weight can also create a circulation problem that adds to the pain.

4. Gout – This is a form of arthritis that affects the joints. It’s caused by a build-up of uric acid. It’s strongly linked to being overweight.

5. Peripheral arterial disease – This is a circulatory problem caused by a narrowing of the arteries that supply blood to the limbs. It’s often a sign of fatty deposits in the arteries. It can result in sores that won’t heal forming on your toes and feet.

6. Diabetes – Diabetes has been directly connected to obesity. Left uncontrolled it can damage the nerves in your feet so that you can’t feel heat, cold or pain. Many people with diabetes end up having to undergo removal of toes.

People who are overweight need to pay special attention their feet. One of the ways I skechersshow my feet some love is by wearing these super comfy and easy to slip on and off “You by Skechers” shoes. They make my feet SO happy!

The more pain you have in your feet, the less likely you are to get the exercise you need to help with weight loss.

Starting a sensible diet and exercise program will help you start to overcome a lot of foot pains.

Yours in health and happiness,

Danette

P.S. Please share this with your friends and I always love to hear from you in the comments below.

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In America, you’d be hard-pressed to find too many people who don’t want to lose some weight.

Some people just want to drop 5 pounds to make their clothes feel better.

Others have big weight loss goals of 100 pounds, or even more.

No matter how big or small your weight loss goals may be, diets and hype that promise easy answers aren’t real.

Quick fixes for weight loss simply don’t work.

There are no magic pills or potions that will change that, no matter what your friends say skinny girl holding diet pills or what you read on the Internet.

Sure, some work in the short term but when you stop the diet, the weight piles right back on and usually you end up weighing more than you did before your started these fad diets.

If you have a long history of failed weight loss attempts, then you probably know what we’re talking about.

4 Weight Loss Quick Fixes that Don't Work

When you’re done seeing how many of them you recognize, skip to the bottom and read about what does work.

1. The Dukan Diet

This is a diet that comes from France. It was created by a French doctor. It has four phases.

In the first, you eat as much protein as you want. In the second you eat protein and vegetables. In the third, you add back fruit, cheese, starches and bread.

In the fourth phase, you can eat anything as long as you exercise, and 1 day a week you eat only protein and 3 teaspoons of oat bran.

It doesn’t work because all you’re really losing by cutting out carbs is water weight.

2. The 17-day Diet

This is another low carb diet done over 17 days. You're supposed to cut out unhealthy ingredients and replace them with healthy ones. You also can’t eat fruit or carbs after 2 p.m. each day and have to walk 17 minutes a day.

It doesn’t work because it relies on gimmicks. The walking is good and so are the food swaps, but the rest of the diet is not sustainable.

3. The Atkins Diet

Atkins is another low carb, high protein diet in four phases. It mostly provides water loss that does not last. There are plenty of good carbs that can actually help you burn fat.

4. The HCG Diet

This is an extreme calorie restriction diet that cuts out 500 to 800 calories a day.

It asks dieters to supplement with HCG, a hormone that the body makes during pregnancy. HCG is not approved by the FDA for weight loss.

Though this diet will help you lose weight fast, there simply isn't enough food to make it sustainable. Not eating enough food is not healthy.

What Does Work

Plain and simple, losing weight is about changing your lifestyle.

It's not about counting calories, taking supplements or cutting out an entire food group for a short period of time.

By changing over to a permanent clean-eating diet, adding moderate exercise and mindfulness, you can take back control of your body.clean eating organic food

Clean eating means lots of fresh, organic produce, lean proteins and certain dairy foods.
Stop looking for a quick fix and change your mindset. You’ll feel better and look better, all at the same time.

Yours in health and happiness,

Danette

P.S. Please help me spread the word by sharing this with your friends and I love reading your comments below.

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Your yearly visit to your doctor’s office comes with a weigh-in, blood pressure check, and blood work.

A more comprehensive workup will include a CMP (complete metabolic panel) that checks many things, and one of the most important is your triglyceride level.

At normal levels, triglycerides are a good thing. They are the fat in your bloodstream that your body uses for energy. They are also known as lipids.

When you have the right amount of them, everything is great, but if you have more than you need or use, they get stored for later.

They may end up on your hips or turn to belly fat. They can also jeopardize your health.

high-triglycerids-cause-belly-fat

When you have too many triglycerides in your blood it can lead to heart disease.

Normal levels of triglycerides are expressed as less than 150 milligrams per deciliter. If your levels are between 150 and 199 they are worrying, and between 200 and 499 is considered high.

If your levels are above 500, there is real cause for concern.

The good news is that a high triglyceride level isn’t something that you’re stuck with forever. 

You can make lifestyle changes to lower it. Diet and exercise are the key.

Top 10 Ways to Lower Your Triglyceride Levels.

1. Get moving. Getting moderate exercise at least five days a week can make a big difference. Just make sure that you talk to your doctor first to make sure that what you are doing is safe for your current health.

2. Lose some weight. If you are over the weight your doctor suggests, losing even a small amount can help. It’s especially important to lose belly fat.

3. Cut out “bad” fats. Eating healthier overall is important, and it is especially important to cut out bad fat. Trans fats and cholesterol are tied to high lipid levels.

4. Cut out beer, wine and other alcohol. If you are drinking more than one a day beer makes triglycerides higher (for women) or two a day for men, you are increasing your levels.

5. Eat more wild caught fish. Fish that are high in omega-3s, like salmon, albacore tuna and sardines are all good for your lipid levels.

6. Cut out sugar. Want to know who has low triglyceride levels? People who take in less than 10% of their daily calories in sugar.

The American Heart Association says that added sugars should only make up 5% of your daily calories.

For women that means 100 grams and for men just 150 grams per day.

7. Eat more fiber. Eating whole grains, prunes and other fiber rich foods like fresh fruits and vegetables go a long way towards cutting your lipid levels.

8. Cut your “bad” carbs. Simple carbs easily turn into triglycerides in your bloodstream and get stored as fat. People who eat diets low in simple carbs tend to also have lower blood lipid levels.

9. Eat more “good” fats. Fats like those found in olive oil, avocados, and nuts can lower lipid levels.

10. Try herbal supplements. There are studies that have shown that garlic extract, guggul and curcumin can all drop blood triglycerides.

Yours in health and happiness,

Danette

P.S. Please help me spread the word about keeping hearts healthy by sharing this with your loved ones.

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If you suffer from migraines, then you probably already know that there are some foods you need to stay far away from.

These foods are known as “triggers,” and anytime you eat them you take a real chance that you’re going to end up in pain.

Migraine triggers include:

  • Chocolate stack of chocolate
  • Red wine
  • Coffee
  • Aged cheese
  • Soy sauce
  • MSG
  • Cold foods
  • Bananas
  • Processed meats
  • Pickled foods
  • Dairy
  • Citrus

Migraines are tricky though, and every migraine sufferer is different. Some of the foods on this list are also known to relieve the pain of a headache.

The foods that we eat affect each of us in our own way, so if you are prone to migraine attacks it is a good idea to keep a food diary to see how your body reacts to the foods you eat.

According to researchers at Harvard Medical School, there is a lot more known about what causes migraines than what cures them.

Here are some foods and diet tips you might want to try to see if they help make the pain go away:

One of the best things you can do to avoid migraines is to keep your blood sugar steady. You can do this by choosing complex carbs instead of processed foods.

1. Turn to brown rice instead of white. brown-rice-better-than-white-rice-for-migraines

2. Eat quinoa and other protein-rich foods like fish, eggs and beans.

3. Make sure you drink plenty of water.

4. Eat small meals throughout the day.

5. Eat foods that ease inflammation. Flaxseed is rich in omega-3s. They can easily be added to many foods.

Though coffee can trigger a migraine, it can also get rid of one for some people.

Other steps you can take include using essential oils to decrease tension in your blood vessels. Both lavender oil and peppermint oil have been shown to help.

Do not take them internally. Instead, add a few drops to hot water and then inhale the scented steam.

If you want to start keeping a food diary to figure out what foods to avoid, it’s easy to do.

infographic to help ease your migraines

Start with a list of foods that are known to be pain-free.

These include:

  • Cooked green vegetables, including Swiss chard, spinach and collards
  • Cooked yellow vegetables like summer squash
  • Cooked orange vegetables like carrots and pumpkin
  • Brown rice and quinoa
  • Cooked non-citrus fruits

Try to avoid foods that are known triggers.

If this pain-free diet leads to fewer or no headaches, it’s time to add back possible triggers. Add them in one at a time every two days to see if there is an effect.

If you do get a headache then you need to add the eliminated food to your “do not eat” list. The longer you do this, the longer your list of allowed foods will be, and the more certain you will be of what you need to stay away from.

Yours in health and happiness,

Danette

P.S. Please share this important info. with your loved ones who suffer from migraines.

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You might be wondering…”What the heck are lectins?”

The simplest answer is that they’re the proteins found in some of the healthiest foods that we eat.

You might think that means that they're good for you, but the exact opposite is true.

How can that be? Read on.

Lectins are found in about one-third of the foods that we eat.

You can find them in grains and raw legumes, but they’re also found in dairy and seafood.

Some of the most common sources of lectin include:

  • Grains that are high in gluten. Wheat is very high in lectins, and so are oils made from grains
  • Legumes such as beans, soy and peanuts, as well as their oils
  • Dairy products from animals that are fed grain instead of grass
  • Plants in the nightshade family like tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplant

Lectins in plants help to protect them against pests and disease.

Some scientists think they developed Lectin as a way to keep seeds from breaking down. Because of lectins, when animals ate plants the seeds would pass whole so that they could later grow into new plants.

Why Should I Care About Lectins?

When we eat too many lectins, they attach to our intestinal wall’s cells. They can damage our gut lining and cause inflammation.

This not only makes it harder for us to absorb important nutrients but may also play a role in health problems like leaky gut and autoimmune diseases.gut-inflammation

The good news is that by preparing food properly, you can offset lectins’ disadvantages and still get the other benefits offered by the foods that contain them.

When we eat too many lectins we experience stomach problems. They are a result of our bodies’ immune systems recognizing them as a problem.

When this happens, the body attacks its own structures. This is how autoimmune diseases can get started.

What's the Fix?

Left alone lectins keep us from accessing the nutrients in our foods. The best way to avoid these problems is to take them from their raw state.

This can be done by letting them sprout;

  • Unsprouted grains have lower availability of protein than sprouted ones do.
  • By contrast, when you allow these grains to sprout, you boost the body’s use of vitamin B12, iron, magnesium, zinc and phosphorous.

Another way to eliminate the problem and gain nutrition of lectin-rich food is to soak them or to cook them properly.

This is why people soak and rinse beans before cooking them. When you soak them overnight and rinse them before boiling, you remove a lot of lectins.

For some foods, simply boiling will do the trick. Fermenting also works and so does cooking in a pressure cooker.

Because most foods high in lectin are cooked before we eat them, we don’t hear much about the problem, but if you suffer from leaky gut or other digestive issues, you may want to learn more about lectin’s role in gut heath.

Diets that avoid lectins exclude grains, beans, nuts, seeds and dairy.

Yours in health and happiness,

Danette

P.S. Please help get the word out by sharing this info. with your friends and I always love to hear from you in the comments below!

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Do you love your morning coffee or evening tea?

Do you wish that they offered more health benefits?

If so, then you should try Golden Milk.

Golden Milk is made by mixing healthful turmeric paste with warm coconut milk or almond milk. It gives you all the benefits of turmeric in a tasty and soothing drink that you will quickly grow to love.

Golden Milk is getting a lot of attention in the news, but it is by no means a new drink.

People have been enjoying Golden Milk for hundreds of years!

In India, people have used this warm comforting drink to clear the mind. They value it for being fresh and pure and know it provides a real health boost.

Some of the benefits include improving problems of the liver and healing wounds and skin problems.

It also cures respiratory illnesses, stomach trouble, and joint pain so drink up!

woman with clear skin

Health benefits of Golden Milk

Golden Milk’s is made from turmeric paste.

The paste’s main ingredient is a spice called turmeric. This spice contains a polyphenol called curcumin which has been shown to have antioxidant, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties.

Turmeric has been studied a great deal. Its most important benefits appear to be its ability to lower inflammation and blood sugar levels. It has been shown to be very helpful for those who have metabolic syndrome.

There are many, many more reasons to add turmeric to your recipes!

The other ingredient in turmeric paste is ground black pepper. Pepper serves a very real purpose in the drink.

Black pepper contains a property called piperine which boosts the body’s absorption of turmeric by 2000%.

Golden Milk’s health benefits don’t only come from turmeric paste. Its other main ingredient is coconut milk and coconut oil.

Coconut oil contains lauric acid. This fat can destroy viruses and is converted into energy rather than stored. It’s been shown to help weight loss and boost insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance.

You can make your own turmeric paste easily.  All you need is turmeric powder, water and ground pepper.

Don't have time to make your own? I get it! Introducing Earth Echo Golden Superfood Bliss!  This is what I use – it's quicker and has even more superfoods.

Healing Golden Milk Danette May Turmeric Recipe

There are other ingredients that you can add to a cup of golden milk to enhance the taste and add to its health benefits.  These include:

Vanilla – Vanilla has been shown to boost mood
Cardamom – This spice is said to support the digestive system
Dates – Dates are a good source of vitamins and minerals. You can sweeten Golden Milk using date sugar or date syrup instead of honey.
Ginger – Ginger adds spice to the flavor of Golden Milk. It also fights nausea, reduces muscle pain and arthritis pain, lowers the risk of heart disease, and improves memory.

This summer, trade out your coffee and tea for Golden Milk and give your mornings and evenings a refreshing health boost. Grab your Golden Superfood Bliss HERE. 

Yours in health and happiness,

Danette

P.S. Please share this with your coffee-loving friends and I love to hear from you in the comments below! Have you tried Golden Milk?

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Coconut oil is more than just the newest food craze.

It’s also a beauty booster, a weight loss aid and even has uses around your home.

Most important of all, studies have shown that coconut oil is one of the healthiest foods around.

Coconut oil is extracted from the dried meat of mature coconuts. People once thought of the oil as unhealthy because it is over 80% saturated fat. In recent years, it has been shown to be a medium-chain fatty acid that is easy to digest and an excellent source of energy.

It's also high in lauric acid, which aids in boosting our immune system, and vitamin E, which is good for our hair and skin.

Coconut oil has been shown to have many health benefits, including:

  • Helping with memory loss a woman holding a free weight in a gym
  • Boosting weight loss
  • Building muscle
  • Fighting infection
  • Curbing appetite
  • Lowers risk of heart disease

If you have a jar of coconut oil in the house, you may be surprised to hear that you can use it for far more than cooking and baking.

20 Things to Do with Your Jar of Coconut Oil

1. It makes a great diaper cream. It fights inflammation and smells great.
2. Use it to soothe the itch of poison ivy or mosquito bites.
3. Clears up cold sores quickly.
4. Rub it on cracked heels for quick healing.
5. It’s a great cure for a sore throat – just add a tablespoon to your hot tea.
6. Smooth on a sunburn for soothing relief.
7. Spread onto psoriasis or eczema to help clear a flare.
8. Rub a dab inside your nose if you struggle with allergies.
9. Rub on your hands after washing dishes to fight dry, irritated skin.
10. Soften and condition shiny leather goods.tufted black leather couch on grey leather background
11. Makes a great hair conditioner. Just rub onto dry hair, cover with a shower cap & leave on for a few hours. Wash it out with a few rounds of shampoo.
12. Take the frizz out of hair by putting a dab on your hands and running through your hair.
13. Stimulate hair growth by rubbing into scalp.
14. Rub on cuticles to boost nail growth.
15. Get rid of dry elbows by rubbing a dab in every day.
16. Mix with baking soda to make a whitening toothpaste.
17. Add to baking soda and use as deodorant.
18. Get rid of dead, dry skin on your feet by mixing it with sea salt & rubbing it on.
19. Use as a lip balm to fight chapped lips.
20. Make this cellulite smoothing body scrub.

20 ways to use coconut oil infographic

Of course, one the most popular ways to get the benefits of coconut oil is by using it when you cook.

  • Add it to smoothies.
  • Use it as a coffee creamer.
  • Use it to replace vegetable oil.

To make using it easy, some people melt their entire jar, then pour it into ice cube trays. Once it gets hard, pop out the blocks and put them in an airtight container.

This makes it easy to use a small portion without having to scoop it out.

Make Sure These 3 Things Are on the Label

1. Cold pressed

2. Unrefined/Virgin

3. Organic

If you are feeling especially ambitious, have a supply of fresh coconuts and lot of patience, you can even make your own coconut oil!

Yours in health and happiness,

Danette

P.S. Please help me spread the love for coconut oil by sharing this with your friends and I welcome your comments below. What's your favorite use for coconut oil?

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